Crash on eve of Mother's Day leaves four moms dead

A utility pole is almost torn out of the sidewalk near Lake Street and Cicero Avenue Sunday, where four women were killed in an auto accident under the CTA Green Line elevated tracks. Iesha Nelson, an unidentified woman and Tyshyra Hines (left to right in inset photo) were three of the four women killed. Bernadette Harris (not pictured) was also killed in the accident. (Chuck Berman, Chicago Tribune)

One of six young children who lost their mothers in a car accident, Sincere Terry, 4, learned Sunday that his mother was gone forever.

"I explained to him that she was gone in the clouds and she wasn't going to be coming back," said James Williams, the boy's step-grandfather.

The boy's mother, Tyshyra Hines, 21, and three friends were killed in an automobile accident Saturday night, minutes beforeMother's Day officially began.

The four women died when the car they were in hit a support column for an elevated Green Line track on Lake Street just west of Cicero Avenue in the Austin neighborhood, authorities said.

Family and authorities identified the other women as Ieshia Nelson, 21; Bernadette Harris, 25; and Alicia Goston, 22. All four were mothers to young children, family said.

Three of the women died at the scene. Nelson was pronounced dead at Mount Sinai Hospital at 12:48 a.m. Sunday, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.

The car, traveling at a "high rate of speed," ran into a light pole after hitting the CTA column and split in two about 11:55 p.m., according to a statement from Chicago police. No other information about the crash was available Sunday.

The Chicago Police Department's major accident investigation unit is investigating the crash and will eventually do an accident reconstruction to determine the rate of speed and the cause of the accident.

Relatives said the women had been out for the night. Goston's family said the women were on their way to Goston's grandmother's 61st birthday party.

Relatives, including Harris' sister, Sheila Harris, said the young women didn't go out a lot. Instead, they focused their attention on their children, work and school.

Bernadette Harris, mother to three children, wanted them to succeed, Sheila Harris said.

"She'd go above and beyond for her kids," said Sheila Harris, 35. "She was an outstanding mother."

She said the young children, Shundrea, 4; Shamyriah, 6; and Ramyiah, 8; had not yet been told about their mother's death but would be told Sunday --Mother's Day. The father of the two younger children is Hines' brother.

Sheila Harris said her sister worked as a home caregiver for the elderly.

"She was a very kindhearted person," Sheila Harris said of her sister, whom friends called "Bern."

Hines, who had recently been laid off from a job at a pizzeria, was an easygoing person, said her father, Anthony.

"She was a good person," he said of his daughter. "Easy to get along with."

Goston's family said she was a "girlie-girl" who loved to dress up and always had a smile on her face. The single mother to 2-year-old Jadan worked at a book factory.